The 250-foot class cutters were designed by the Coast
Guard and were, in many respects, modernized 240-footers. Captain Q.B.
Newman, USCG, designed its innovative turbine-electric-drive power plant,
which developed an amazing 3,350 shp. These were the first to have
alternating current, and a synchronous motor for propulsion. The whole
ship ran off the main turbine. The auxiliary generators were tied into
the main generator electrically, after sufficient speed was attained.
At that point, no steam was required to drive the turbines on the auxiliary
generators. The propulsion plant achieved remarkable efficiency.
The counter stern and plumb bow of the older class had given way to the
flared stem and cruiser stern. These features were an attempt to
improve sea qualities over the 240-foot class, particularly to eliminate the
heavy shocks common in the North Atlantic Ice Patrol.

Initially this class was made up of ten cutters, all
of which were transferred to Great Britain under Lend-Lease in 1941.
They were to be replaced in the USCG inventory by the 255-foot Owasco-class
vessels, laid down in 1943. Three vessels were lost while in British
service, one was not returned, and the remainder turned back to the Coast
Guard in 1946. Initially, the Coast Guard planned to renovate the Champlain,
Itasca, Mocoma, and Tampa and return them to service.
The remaining two vessels, the Chelan and Tahoe, were stripped
of parts for use in the restoration of the other four ships. Due to
economic constraints following the war, however, only the Mocoma and Tampa
were placed in commission.

TYPES OF WORK DONE BY THE LAKE-CLASS CUTTERS

It was only during the last five years that a detailed
statistical record had been kept of various types of work performed by the
ten transferred cutters. Most of the cutters performed an equal amount
of boarding work during this period, with the exception of Tahoe,
whose record of 809 vessels boarded was over twice the group average for the
period, and of Itasca, whose 528 boarding were 50 percent above the
average. Shoshone reported two and a half times the average
number of vessels reported by the group for infractions of navigation laws,
and Tahoe twice the average.

Sebago led in
derelicts destroyed, and Chelan in regattas patrolled. Cayuga
and Mendota did the greatest amount of anti-smuggling patrol work,
while Itasca and Mendota led in time devoted to assistance
work. Mendota and Pontchartrain spent over twice the
average number of hours in winter cruising, while Shoshone, Itasca,
and Chelan did all of the Bering Sea Patrol work done by the group.
Champlain and Chelan led in the International Ice Patrol
activity, and Cayuga devoted more time than any of the rest to USCG
Academy cadet practice cruises. Tahoe gave the greatest amount
of time of any in the group to icebreaking.

CUTTER HISTORY:

After her commissioning Sebago was initially
stationed in New York, where she participated in a number of Cadet Cruises.
She transferred to Norfolk, Virginia in 1938. On 22 December 22, 1939,
Sebago went to the assistance of the 2,847-ton Greek SS Aliakmon,
which had grounded two miles north of Wash Woods Beach, Virginia. The
12-inch hawser which Sebago had secured to the bow of the Greek
vessel parted, but Mendota, which had come to the scene a few hours
later, succeeded in floating the $200,000 vessel at 4:00 a.m. with its crew
of 27.

On 5 April 1941, President Roosevelt authorized the
Secretary of the Treasury to transfer ten 250-foot cutters of the United
States Coast Guard to the United Kingdom. This action was taken in
accordance with the terms of the Act of 11 March 1941, (an Act to Promote
the Defense of the United States). The President, having consulted
with the Chief of Naval Operations and the Commandant of the Coast Guard,
had found that the defense of the United Kingdom was vital to the defense of
the United States, and that it would be in the interests of our national
defense to transfer the ten cutters as defense articles under an agreement
which had been duly concluded with His Majesty's Government.

The cutters in question had been built between the
years 1928 and 1932. They were all 42-foot beam, 16-foot maximum draft
and 1979 tons displacement. Five of them, the Cayuga, Itasca,
Saranac, Sebago, and Shoshone were 3200 horsepower, and
five of them, the Champlain, Mendota, Chelan, Pontchartrain,
and Tahoe, were 3000 horsepower. They were all fuel oil burners
of single screw, steel-hull construction, each with a speed of 16 knots per
hour, driven by turbine electric power, and with a capacity of 90,500
gallons of fuel oil each. The Cayuga had a cruising radius at
economical speed of 6,050 miles and all the others of 7,542 miles. At
the maximum speed all but the Itasca, Shoshone, and Mendota
had a cruising radius at maximum speed of 3,600 miles. These three had
a cruising radius at maximum speed of 4,500 miles.

The ten cutters each had a complement under the Coast
Guard of eight commissioned officers, four warrant officers and 85 enlisted
men. During the fiscal year 1940 they had cruised an average of 20,705
miles each at an average annual cost of operation for each of $186,029.00.

On 5 April 1941, the Commandant sent identical
instructions to the commanding officers of each of the ten vessels that,
when all armament had been installed and their vessels degaussed and
calibrated, they were to report to the Commander of the New York District.
Each vessel was to be prepared for delivery to the British following
detailed instructions, and the actual transfer of command and delivery of
each vessel was to be on a date designated by the Commander of the New York
District. The delivery of the ten vessels was to be made at the Navy
Yard, Brooklyn, NY and was to be as early as practicable, consistent with
the readiness of the vessels and the availability of the relieving
personnel. The vessels and equipment were to be delivered "as
is" except as modified by Headquarters' orders or the following
detailed instructions.

Prior to transfer of command and delivery of vessels,
certain action was outlined. In these instructions each commander was to
obliterate the ship's name from the hull by the removal of the letters and,
also, the ship's name and service designation on all equipment, carefully
repainting over surfaces after such removal. Records of public
property and all other ship's records were to be complete as of delivery
date. Quintuplicate priced invoices were to be prepared on all
equipment; stores, including commissary stores and supplies, including
ammunition, to be transferred with the vessel. After the arrival of
each vessel in New York, the personnel was to be reduced to the minimum
required under prevailing conditions, with surplus personnel to be
transferred as directed by the Commander of the New York District. The
commander of each vessel, however, was required to furnish competent details
of men for the instruction and indoctrination of the British personnel
relieving them. Personnel records, pay accounts and muster rolls were
to be brought up to date and, together with publications and equipment,
transferred as subsequently directed. Each vessel was to be fueled to
capacity, with an adequate supply of lubricants taken on board, and fresh
water tanks filled to capacity. All ship's accounts, including
allotments, mess accounts, clothing and ship's service store were to be
closed out.

During the period of transfer, the crews were to be
mixed--Coast Guard and British, but all Coast Guard personnel were to be
removed from the cutters prior to their final departure from a United States
port. The Commander of the New York District was to designate in advance a
date of transfer agreeable to the relieving British commanding officer.
On that date the vessel and her equipment were to be delivered to the new
British commanding officer, he was to be supplied with the priced invoices
of equipment, stores and supplies to be transferred with the vessel, and his
receipt obtained. All keys, including magazine keys, were to be turned
over and receipted for. There would follow the transfer of all Coast
Guard personnel, except the special details required for instruction or
indoctrination, such personnel to remain on board while in a United States
port only as observers and without responsibility. A roster of such
observers was to be submitted by each commanding officer to the Commander of
the New York District. Each commanding officer was to report to the New York
District Commander the time and date the transfer was affected, together
with a statement that all instructions had been complied with. He was also
to submit copies of all receipted invoices in triplicate for transmission to
Headquarters.

Publications to be removed and forwarded to the
issuing officer at Headquarters included Coast Guard Regulations with
changes and circular letters, Pay and Supply Instructions with
amendments, Courts and Boards, Ordnance, Manual of Engineering
Instructions, Bulletin of Engineering Information, U.S. Navy (Restricted),
and Communications and Uniform Regulations. The same
treatment was to be accorded all ship's files and records, except those
necessary for the operation of the ship by the new command, including all
engineering log books subsequent to June, 1940; the engineering letter file
except letter DG-RR; all secret, confidential and restricted letters,
publications, charts and devices, registered or non-registered; and boat
number plates. To be forwarded to the district to which the vessel was
permanently attached were all records and files pertaining to allotment
ledger and pay accounts, after closure, including rough rolls, file copies
of vouchers, allotment ledgers, schedules, etc.

To the Depot were to be shipped the bronze Coast Guard
plaque that was located in the wardroom of each vessel, metal identifying
letters on bows of boats and cast letters forming names of cutters located
on the stern. To the New York Store, for issue upon Headquarters'
authorization, were to go all uniform clothing, athletic equipment,
broadcast receivers and spare parts, fictional and professional libraries,
motion picture projectors, accessories and spare parts, motion picture
cameras and accessories, photographic equipment and supplies, portable
public address systems anti spare parts. Personnel instructions were
to be destroyed. All articles transferred out of the ship were to be
invoiced to the units to which they were forwarded.

By 9 April 1941, all machinery for the transfer had
been set in motion, and the transfers were expected to take place in an
orderly manner with Captain H. W. Dempwolf, USCG Commander at New York
representing the Coast Guard, and Captain A.F.E. Palliser, RN, HMS Malaya,
representing the British. Four cutters were on that date being painted
the British war color by the United States Navy Yard, in accordance with the
request of the British authorities, and, upon completion of the painting,
these vessels mould be in all respects ready for transfer. The other
six would follow along in accordance with the schedule as planned.
Instruction and indoctrination of the British crew were to be made in Long
Island Sound over a period of two weeks, after which it was expected that
the British could take over the cutters and navigate them satisfactorily
alone. Two Coast Guard officers, Lieutenant Commander H.E. Grogan and
Lieutenant J. P. German, Commanding Officer and Engineer Officer,
respectively, of the Pontchartrain, were designated to act as liaison
between commanding officers of the Coast Guard vessels and the relieving
British commanding officers.

On 12 May 1941, after a ceremony attended by The
Honorable Herbert E. Gaston, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, the
Honorable William R. Johnson, Commissioner of Customs, and Captain H.V.
McKittrick, USN, three cutters were handed over to the British and
commissioned in the Royal Navy as follows:

USCGC Sebago: HMS Walney

USCGC Cayuga: HMS Totland

USCGC Champlain: HMS Sennen

She was lost in the Allied attack on Oran, Algeria on
8 November 1942.

United States Coast Guard, Research and Statistics
Section, Operations Division. The Accomplishments of the Coast
Guard Cutters transferred to the United Kingdom. (Washington, DC: United
States Coast Guard, 1941).